Raised by Wolves
by RainDragon28
Summary: It's been a couple months since Hiccup fled from his dreadful island. He'd been wandering on the Isle of Berk all by himself for a while now, minding his own. At least, that was until he met the girl with the axe. (Feral!Hiccup AU.)
1. Chapter 1

This is Berk. It may to look like much, I agree. But there's more to it than a rock sticking out of the water. As we soar above this island, you can notice a village, right? Well keep that tribe in mind; it has a role further in the story. And I guess you know its entire story. But! There's going to be a couple changes... Imagine mister Hiccup Haddock the Third never existed the way we see him – never grew up with dragon raids, never knew our dear Astrid Hofferson - yet, and never had Stoick as his father or Toothless as his best friend. Ok, now if you desperately wanted these in the story, than I recommend you stop reading right here. Because this story's a completely different version of the world we love so much.

Now! Enough said, let's get on with the story of a feral Hiccup...

It all started with bright blue Night Fury eyes, looking down at his emerald green ones.

Hiccup, still very little – a baby – slowly raised his tiny hands up to touch the black dragon's snout who had him cupped in her front paws, staring down at the little human with her eyes so bright, you'd believe there to be another sky in there.

She nuzzled him lovingly, making the little one giggle and want more when she folded back her head.

That was basically the only thing Hiccup remembered of his childhood. Even he found it was incredible that he could remember something from so long ago, from when he wasn't even aware of his actions – unconscious of the dangers that had been outside the whole time.

But he did remember – and he'd always do.

Today, Hiccup was on his own. Without his loving mother dragon he'd known so little about. He never knew what had happened to her, or why he'd ended up alone.

Actually, he couldn't even figure out why he was recalling this _now._ Only the gods above could tell.

Hiccup jumped from tree to tree, minding his own like usual. He'd been on his own out here for a couple months now after his getaway from his so called tribe. They'd never treated him well – never like one of their own - always too much of a hiccup. He knew he'd never fit in, so why stay? So of course, he had to get away - away from this dreadful island. So now here he was, alone – wandering on this unknown land. It had seemed little from far away when he was on his raft, but once on it, gosh! It was huge! So many things to see and places to explore!

From the shadows, a figure pocked his head from his hiding place and dark brown eyes looked up at the boy climbing down the tree. You could see the shape of a Viking helmet with an axe in hand – ready to jump on his target at any given moment. As he watched Hiccup drop to the ground on all fours like an animal, the hunter took a step forward to get closer to the boy. Unfortunately, he stepped on a twig, causing a loud _CRACK!_ to echo all the way to Hiccup's attentive ears - completely blowing his chance.

The moment he heard, Hiccup's whole body jumped up and turned to face the exact spot he'd heard the source of the noise. His nose twitched, sniffing the air the way a wolf would while his green eyes focused forward on the spot darkened by shadows. It was imprudent to do such thing, but curiosity took over the voice in his head telling him to run away, and he took a couple cautious steps closer to the shadowy cavity where he'd swear there was something waiting for him there.

Just as the hunter was about to strike, another noise was heard – something that sounded like weaponry or something.

Hiccup's head suddenly turned away from the sunken pit, his wild eyes looking right where he'd hear the noise from. Now _that_ wasn't usual around here. Hiccup eyed the shadowed cavity one last time and walked away as something else caught his attention.

When he was close enough, Hiccup, helped by his hands and feet, climbed up the nearest tree and walked its massive branches until he could see what was going on.

His eyes focused down on the ground below while walking on the branch like a wild cat. He sniffed the air to catch the smell of whatever was down there that he still couldn't see due to the amount of leaves blocking his view.

But it's as he managed to find a spot where he could see right through a hole in the wall of green that he turned shocked. His eyes went wide as he started down at the creature. He'd never seen one of these before.

Blonde hair with such beautiful blue eyes - while he had some scars from where he's been.

This was the girl. The girl with the axe.

He watched her throw her weapon to a three with such brutality, and the moment the massive blade cut through the bark of the tree, Hiccup's whole body jerked in alert – instantly taking her as a threat.

Hiccup took a step back on the massive branch he had a grip on, and slipped as he had his eyes still locked on the girl below.

She heard a sudden noise and twisted her body to face the source, only to see a single living leaf drifting down from above. She could have sworn she heard a twig crack. She waited some seconds with her axe in hands, its head facing were she had her blue eyes fixed. As nothing came, the girl sighed and raised her eyes above and spotted something unusual for the many times she'd come here.

Breaking through the thick canopy of leaves, her eyes met wild emerald green ones staring down at her as if she was prey. Her own ones stared back at them for what felt like forever, and then suddenly they disappeared like they were never there.

She gasped and turned around a couple times as she searched for them again. But as far – as deep as she went, she never found them a second time.

...

The young warrior with the axe walked her way back to her hometown, her weapon resting on her shoulder as if it weighed nothing.

It was evening, and so the sun began to set – showing many warm colors against the clouds hovering above their world. Soon enough, the first stars would show.

At the Chief's house she ate. She actually had something important to discuss with her leader – something about eyes glowing in the darkness.

''Are you sure, Astrid?'' asked the Chief of Berk as he put down his cup on the thick wooden table next to the burning fire pit in the house. ''It could've been a wild animal or something.''

''Stoick, I know what I saw.'' said Astrid, making gestures with her arms as she sat on the other side of the table, her back against the heat of the fire behind her. ''It had those eyes, so green – almost glowing against the darkness surrounding them.''

''Astrid—''

''Look, Chief.'' said Astrid, cutting him off. She had quite a friendly relationship with her Chief, so this slight lack of respect didn't bother him as much as if it was coming from his other subjects. Astrid was almost a daughter to him. ''There's something out there. And I want to find out what it is. I just need your permission to use some material to catch it.''

''Well,'' said Stoick, getting up. ''Do as you like. You are welcomed to use whatever traps you want. But I seriously doubt there is such thing out there as the creature you just described to me.''

''W— you don't believe me?'' questioned Astrid as her leader walked to the door for he still had some more chieftain to do before lights out.

Stoick sighed heavily as he just laid hand on the handle. ''Of course I do. But chances are it's an animal out there, or a dragon. After all, it'll have to be one of those two.'' And with that, Stoick walked out the house, believing very little of the young warrior's report.

The door slammed shut, leaving Astrid alone in the room with some anger spent on tapping her foot on the ground – which didn't last long as she'd already figured out a way to prove him wrong.

''One of those two...'' mumbled Astrid under her breath as she just quit pacing. ''It's so not one of those two. And I'm going to _prove_ it.'' She locked her determined eyes on the front door defiantly.

''By tomorrow.''


	2. Chapter 2

Even though he knew she was a threat, Hiccup wanted to know more about that girl. After their eyes made contact, he knew he had to follow her. And so when night fell, he followed her footprints left on the forest floor's rich and fluffy surface.

He walked around on all fours like a wild creature, lowering his head from time to time to allow his sensitive nose to catch her warm scent still floating in the air. And it wasn't difficult for him at all. After all, he'd grown up that way – but he didn't choose this life, and never chose any of this. The only people he'd ever encountered were savages – much more than him anyway.

So Hiccup followed the tracks until he realized when he raised his eyes that he was standing somewhere he never stood before. His attention went to hearing and similar noises of when he heard the girl with the axe from a distance suddenly came back. But it was coming from the other side of those high ferns just up ahead...

With maximum cautious, Hiccup edged closer to the high plants – an eyebrow raised high as the tip of his nose moved on its own to get some of the girl's scent again, only for it to be covered by the smoke from a fire. The sudden change sent Hiccup backwards as he switched on alert. But instead of fleeing; he approached once again and pocked his head under the many leaves.

He could now see a whole Viking village inhabited by people who were actually _not_ savages – or at least didn't look like it. They were all well-dressed - if he does say so himself. He – presently – wore a green tunic and a torn brown fur vest that were wrapped around his waist for they were too small to fit him today, and didn't own any boots since he'd never managed to get himself a pair. So technically, he was bare-chest and bare-feet all the time.

Hiccup had seen well-dressed Vikings before, and sometimes in his past he'd wondered what it was like to be wrapped in furs – in warmth, especially those cold winter nights.

He shook his head to get all those thoughts out so he could concentrate on the task, and made a first move to walk in the town. He pressed his knuckles against the stone that had been pushed in the ground a long time ago, and came out completely into the open. He checked both side and made a run for the first house in front of him, which wasn't the girl's since it didn't own the same scent.

A couple men were still awake, finishing their chores for what it looked like – and so that sent Hiccup the message that he had to be careful. The way he moved would difference him quite a lot and it wouldn't take long until he was chased off by the people. He could already picture them all with their heavy iron blades pointing down at him as he was surrounded, and that was something he _really_ didn't want happening.

The houses were pretty close to one another, and so it was easy to shift from the shadow of one to that of another. There were so many things to see and so many corners of this place to explore, and as much as Hiccup would like to know more about this world, he had to focus on finding this girl. Why? Well, only Hiccup could answer that question. Something about a bond made back there.

He carried like that some more until he finally reached the right house. There was a window at the back, and so Hiccup – being short the way he walked – reached both hands up and managed to grasp the frame and pull himself up until he could see inside. But as his eyes searched, he found nothing and so dropped to the ground.

It was a risk to take, but Hiccup wanted to know more. His curiosity took over, and unaware of the danger he was rising over himself, stepped into plain sight – where light from the torches reached while he circled the building.

High above, standing in a watchtower, a Berkian Guard scanned the village below once in a while – watching out for any swift wild beast that could be lurking around to steal their resources or simply attack them all.

Unfortunately for the boy below, the Night Watch caught him as he walked too close to a house and blew in the horn next to him, alerting the whole town of his presence.

''WILD ANIMAL!'' yelled the man in the watchtower, cupping his mouth. ''THERE'S A WILD ANIMAL IN THE VILLAGE!''

Down below, Hiccup heard the cries of men and women after the words were shouted, and it took him a moment to realize that the village had been alerted because of him after a spear was thrown at him and hit the ground a little too close to his foot.

Immediately, he fled, galloping on his fours – which indicated clearly to the men that he was the 'wild animal in the village'. But it didn't take long for Hiccup to lose them all as soon as he entered the woods and climbed up the nearest tree. He'd seen them from above taking careful steps in the darkness with their swords and spears in hands. And when one called it off, he let go a breath he didn't know he'd been holding all this time and settled against the trunk while his two legs dangled from each sides.

Once thing he'd learned today – he was never setting foot in this village again.

...

Astrid installed her trap at the exact same place she'd practiced axe-throwing the last time. Of course, chances for her to catch this thing were as good as finding a needle in a stack of hay.

But she set it anyway early that morning, and hid with her axe in hands, waiting for _it_ to come

She was going to catch this thing, even if she had to wait all day.

...

Later that day, Hiccup was on his way back to his usual area in the woods he'd always been. The road back wasn't as exciting as when he chased after the girl, but he had to go back before he got caught by some guard or hunter wandering in the woods near the town's boundaries.

He hopped from rocks and branches – climbed up in trees and got down, making his way through bushes to come out with some scratches.

And so he went that way for most of the day, just minding his own, until he stumbled upon the same place he'd see _her._

For some reason, he felt like she was there again and so instead of carrying on with his getaway, he changed course and approached. He climbed up the same tree as he did last time and observed down below through the same hold in the canopy of leaves. But she wasn't there...

He didn't see her anywhere even though he could feel her here.

But Hiccup wasn't going to sitting there, waiting for her to come. He furrowed his brows in confusion of her physical absence and carefully climbed down the tree, and landed on his fours. Each step he took was like a single leaf landing on the forest floor. He got closer to the exact same spot she once stood, and checked every corner around from that position. But his eyes caught nothing, and so he decided to move on.

Suddenly, he stepped on something strange – something he'd never seen in these woods before. It only made a clicking noise and next thing Hiccup knew, he was prisoner of a rope net hanging from above.

His fingers clawed the net as he kicked and twirled inside like a fish without water. He couldn't understand what was happening and made loud, wild animal sounds down his throat in warning to whomever or whatever had him in this trap.

Out of the blue, the same girl he'd been searching for in first place when he'd come here jumped from her hiding place, her double-headed battle-ax in hands as she yelled ''Gottcha!''

Hiccup's hands closed around the ropes around him and at the sight of these human hands, Astrid knew she'd been right. This wasn't an animal, or a dragon. It was someone. _Someone that behaved like nothing I've seen before, though..._ she thought to herself as she watched him moved in the net wildly.

''Who are you?'' she asked after taking some looks at the boy. But of course, Hiccup didn't answer her, a little busy trying to escape this jail of ropes.

Astrid noticed he didn't wear clothes like Vikings did and had many scars and scratches on his dirty skin. His auburn hair was dirty as well with two little braids on the right side behind his ear.

''You don't look well.'' said Astrid, speaking her mind out loud. She twisted her body to take a look at her surrounding, finding nothing else unusual in these woods but this boy. She turned back around to him.

''Don't worry, I'll figure out what's wrong with you.''

And with that, even though Hiccup fought wildly in the net, she untied the rope holding it in the air and dragged her found back to the village.

Now.

Now she had proof that she was right all along.


	3. Chapter 3

The moment Astrid set foot in town with a net holding something; she was instantly crowded by villagers. In the middle of the plaza, Astrid showed them what she'd found.

Inside the net, Hiccup tried to escape all of those eyes filled with curiosity staring down at him. He kept trying to run – squeeze through a square hole from the prison, but he had tangled up his feet and wrists from too much moving, and so he couldn't escape now.

He was afraid. And he didn't know what was going to happen to him. All he knew is that he had to find a way out, and run as far away from this place as possible.

He was suddenly dropped to the ground, and Hiccup finally found the exit of the net. Without any questions, he jumped right out of it, only to bump into legs of people surrounding him. He could hear them talking, asking questions but he couldn't come to care. He didn't listen to a word they were saying and focussed on finding a way out.

It's until he realized there was none that he finally backed off, breathing heavily from running to one end to the other with the circle getting tighter.

''Alright, alright!'' yelled a loud and deep voice that didn't belong to anyone locking him in.

The entire crowd dropped silent and as the people let the man pass, Hiccup found himself much more intimidated then a second ago.

''What is this, Astrid?'' asked Stoick the Vast, gesturing to the boy low on the ground standing on all fours. ''Some kind of joke?''

''Sir,'' said Astrid as she approached the boy looking up at him with wide eyes. ''He's the one I saw yesterday.'' She could tell because of his eyes. She never knew anyone with such a green shade. There was no doubt. He was the one.

''Him?'' said Stoick as he shifted his eyes from her to the boy. But there _was_ something odd about him that only he had noticed. The way he was; savage, dirty, scared-

''Outcast.'' breathed Stoick, his eyes growing wide. ''He's an Outcast.''

Murmurs echoed from the crowd at Stoick's words, and Astrid realized what this meant.

Outcasts were Berk's most feared enemies. And so if this boy was an Outcast, this meant...

''No!'' said Astrid firmly, cutting all whispers off. ''He's not an Outcast.''

But when she said it, her Chief was already walking away, ordering his men.

''Throw him in a cell! We'll dispose of him in the morning!'' called Stoick the Vast to his men and it didn't took long before Hiccup had both arms grabbed and forced to move.

He growled as they set hands on him and ordered him to walk along, but he refused and tried walking backwards as they approached the jail building.

''Wait!'' called Astrid to her Chief who walked in the opposite direction. ''Stoick,''

''Lass, I don't have time to talk right now.'' said Stoick flatly without even looking down at her as she tried to stop him.

''He's innocent!'' she said, her voice rising.

''He's an OUTCAST!'' he shouted down at her. ''Outcasts cannot be trusted.''

''But he's just a kid!''

''I don't care, Astrid!'' said Stoick aggressively. ''He'll be executed in the morning, and that's it.''

''You don't even have proof he is.'' spat Astrid defiantly, narrowing her eyes. ''By Viking law, you need that before executing someone.''

Stoick looked down her, but he knew she was right.

''Alright.'' he said at last, sighing in defeat. ''But he stays where he is until further notice. I'm not taking any chances.''

A grateful smile appeared on Astrid's lips. ''Fair enough.''

...

Hiccup paced around for hours on empty, jumping at the slightest of sounds. He couldn't find a way to rest, a position or a peaceful place at the back of his mind. He felt like someone had stepped inside his soul - taking every second of every minute of every passing hour he could use to rest.

The door at the other end of the hall suddenly opened wide, allowing morning day light to finally enter the building. Hiccup advanced closer to the perfect iron bars and closed his hands on them as he pressed his forehead against the cool metal.

There was someone coming, and the moment he saw men stop before his cell, Hiccup returned at the back to hide in the shadows. After all these people did to him, he didn't want to face them again. The only person here he felt like he could probably trust, was Astrid. Sure she was the cause of all this, but she never hurt him like the rest.

The iron door was swung wide, and two guards entered to grab him.

''Come here, you little—'' said one, but was cut off when the boy tried to pass between their legs and escape. Unfortunately for him, he had arms wrapped around his middle and was lifted up from the ground and swung over a shoulder.

Even by roaring and growling warningly to the men, they didn't let him go and so he was carried to a cold room with the Chief of the tribe waiting for him at a table.

Hiccup was dropped to the floor, and instead of falling hard, he landed on all fours like a feline and looked up at them with narrowed eyes as they laughed. But he wasn't free for long as one attached a chain to his foot so he wouldn't be going anywhere.

''Don't worry, lad.'' said Stoick as he noticed the look on the kid's face. ''It's just temporary. Now,''

He leaned against the table with his hands folded together as the boy sat on a chair at the other end, their eyes finally meeting.

''Tell me more about yourself.''

Hiccup didn't say a word. He didn't know _what_ to say.

''Come on, now,'' said Stoick as he got up from his seat and circled to table to stand next to him. ''I don't wanna do this the hard way, so talk.''

Hiccup growled.

...

Astrid was on nightshift that night. All day her Chief had been interrogating the mysterious boy from the woods, and apparently he still hadn't cracked.

 _Maybe he doesn't even_ know _how to talk..._ thought Astrid as she swung her axe over her shoulder while walking between the Viking houses.

 _Nothing unusual here._ she thought again, her eyes scanning the shadows in case any wild dragon or an enemy might be hiding and waiting for the right moment to ambush.

A cry suddenly brought all of her attention to the prison, and she didn't have to guess to who it belonged _. S_ he could tell he was in pain. She knew – after seeing and hearing so many people in pain through the years of dragon raids, it was easy for her to know the difference.

Without even wondering why, she ran to the jail to find out what was going on.

 _Oh, I swear he better not be kicking the truth out of him._ she thought to herself as her eyes narrowed.

Astrid swung the large door of the building open and at the other end of the hall she saw warm light from a glow-lamp. She didn't even questioned herself if this was actually the right or wrong thing to do, and shot for the room in which she knew her leader and the prisoner were.

...

Hiccup growled low through gritted teeth while spitting out some more blood. The man questioning him wanted to know. He wanted to know so badly he'd ended up hurting him, without reason. Hiccup suddenly received another kick in the stomach while the two guards held him in place. He had time to suck in his abdomen to absorb the blow, but it still hurt anyway.

''You won't last long.'' said Stoick as he stood tall before him. ''And pretty soon, you'll admit what you are. And then, we'll put an end to your _miserable_ life.''

''You can keep hurting me,'' spat Hiccup as he looked up at him darkly, his hair dangling before him eyes. ''Then hurt me some more.''

''HEY!'' bellowed a feminine voice, one Hiccup felt like he hadn't heard since forever. ''What do you think you're doing?!'' She collapsed to the ground to help Hiccup up as the two men had let him go.

''Is this your way of dealing with these situations, Stoick?'' asked Astrid to the Chief who knew what could happen now that she'd seen him beating up the lad. ''If the village hears about this, you could be executed yourself! You're lucky I'm keeping my mouth shut, _Chief_.''

She helped Hiccup to his feet and brought him somewhere safe.

Astrid kicked the door of her house open while Hiccup had an arm wrapped around her neck she held there. He stumbled many times on the way since he'd gotten his energy beaten out of him. Astrid had noticed him more docile than before, and was just glad he wasn't growling and trying to escape at every opportunity.

''Here,'' she said as she laid him down against the wall. Astrid grabbed a cup of water she then thrust in his hand. Hiccup observed the object suspiciously and rose his eyes at her. ''It's a cup. You drink from it.''

Hiccup knew he could trust her, and so drank from the cup.

''I still haven't got your name,'' said Astrid as she sat in front of him with a candle next to her.

His eyes met hers once again and he spoke. ''Hiccup.''

'' _Hiccup._ '' she repeated. ''Where did you get it from? Who named you?''

At these questions, Hiccup lowered his gaze, refusing to pronounce the word.

Astrid reached a hand and cupped his, trying to catch his face to read it. ''Hiccup, I need you to tell me who you are. So I can help you.''

''Outcasts.'' said Hiccup suddenly, almost cutting her off. ''I... I was taken in by Outcasts.''


	4. Chapter 4

Almost the second after he pronounced the word, the front door of the house burst open and men walked in, followed by the Chief.

Astrid stood on both feet the instant they came in and balled her fists in anger.

''Take him.'' ordered Stoick to his men while Hiccup, resting against the wall with barely any strength left in him - let them take him as he knew he wouldn't get away this time.

''No.'' breathed Astrid as she watched her newest friend being brought back where he'd first been. ''How can you do this to him? He hasn't even done anything!''

''And he never will.'' said Stoick darkly down at her and turned his back and walked away.

Everything happened too fast - faster than her mind could've recorded. She'd got him back to lose him again. And she'd just known his name...

...

Later that night, Astrid walked through town, her axe resting on her shoulder like it always did. But her mind was on something else. She just stared down at her feet as she walked. She felt like she'd lost the fight. And she hated losing.

She came in a clearing where the moonlight reached and raised her gaze to find herself standing in front of the prison – where Hiccup was kept.

An idea suddenly came to her and Astrid knew she couldn't let go of this opportunity. She had to do it, even if it meant consequences.

Astrid entered the building without making the slightest of sounds and walked the hallway until she stood before his cell.

The moonlight entered from small windows high in the walls of the building. That light revealed Hiccup sitting in the back of his cell, his head low. She could read him like a book and knew that he felt defeated, just like her. But the fight wasn't over.

Astrid grabbed the ring carrying all the keys that hung from a nail in the wall. She took hold of the one key and raised her eyes to see Hiccup looking up at her with the same eyes she'd seen surrounded by darkness.

She sighed heavily and entered the key in the lock. She turned it and the door swung open.

''You can go.'' she said, but the confusion showing in his eyes didn't fade away. ''Go on. You're free.''

Hiccup took a couple steps forward on his fours until he stood outside the cell and looked back at her like he wasn't sure to run or not.

''What are you waiting for?'' she asked and took hold of a leather whip from the wall and lashed it on the floor, right behind him. That sent him running to the door.

''Go home.'' she said, her voice cracking.

Hiccup galloped the hallway and stopped at the door, taking a look to freedom right outside and back to Astrid who closed the door of his cell and gave him a nod. Hiccup grew a smile on his lips, speaking his own way. He leaned back on both legs and shot forward.

Astrid watched him turn the corner and inhaled deeply as she knew she'd just betrayed her tribe. But she'd also saved a life. It was doing the wrong thing for the right reason.

...

Hiccup ran between the buildings, heading straight for the woods. He was going to run until he reached a place he knew he'd be safe – far from this village.

The smile never disappeared the entire way back. He'd waited for so long to finally run free, but saying goodbye to that girl had been harder that he'd imagined.

His arms and legs carried him away – far away. But Hiccup stopped when he stumbled on the same place he'd first met _her_. That ground where he'd watched her from the trees. And that's when the smile faded away. Hiccup climbed up the boulder that's always been there and sat as he felt his heart heavy.

Suddenly, like all light had gone out, a bag closed on him and Hiccup kicked madly inside in panic. He couldn't see anything but could feel himself thrown over a man's shoulder. He screeched and grunted, punching what he knew was the person's back, but his knuckles hit armor and he immediately knew if he continued that way he'd injure himself more than anything else.

The ride didn't last long and he was thrown to the ground still trapped inside the bag.

''Well, what do we have here...'' said a voice Hiccup knew too well.

Without leaving him time to recover, Hiccup was lifted up from the ground by a hand closed around his ankle. He tried to grasp the ground, but the man's strength was above what he could handle. Upside-down green eyes met greyish-blue.

''Hello, Hiccup.'' said the man with clenched teeth.

''Alvin.'' replied Hiccup, still hanging upside down.

''Hope you enjoyed the ride.'' said Alvin, smiling wickedly, his eyebrows almost hiding his eyes when he frowned.

''Oh yeah, I love being bagged, thrown over a shoulder and taken Thor knows where...'' said Hiccup sarcastically.

Alvin finally dropped him and if Hiccup didn't have his hands ready to stop his fall, he'd probably be dead from a neck-break. He picked himself up quickly as his so said 'Chief' walked passed him. Hiccup frowned at him as he rubbed the back of his neck and went after them.

''Wait, where are you guys going?'' he asked, confused about where they were heading.

''Isn't it obvious, my boy? Haven't you learned anything during your journey?'' said Alvin as he turned around to face down at him.

''No.'' breathed Hiccup his eyes growing with fear. ''No you can't—''

''Berkians and Outcasts are enemies. Did you really think you could be buddy-buddies with them?'' said Alvin, lowering himself for theirs gaze to be at the same level. ''It's kill. Or _be_ killed.''

Hiccup could feel his heart pounding harder in his chest. They were going to attack. And none of the people back there knew. Astrid—

''If you want to get to them,'' growled Hiccup as he ran to block his way. ''You'll have to go through me first.''

 _Why did I go there..?_ thought Hiccup to himself. He knew he'd lost the second Alvin lay hand on him.

Alvin the Treacherous threw his head backwards as he laughed, but his face didn't last long to turn dark. He reached down to grab the boy, but Hiccup was faster than him, and got out of the way immediately. But the chase didn't go on much longer as Alvin got hold of his hair and threw him away with such strength; he ended up rolling and sliding in the mud many yards away.

The Outcast leader laughed mockingly and ordered his men to keep going.

Rain started to pour down while Hiccup lay down in a growing puddle of water. Even if he tried, the strength needed to rise wasn't there, and so Hiccup could do nothing at all to help himself.

His chin rested on the muddy ground with his wet hair dangling before his eyes. He felt like his body refused to respond – all scratched again and covered of fresh mud.

Now he couldn't go on – or even start. He had nothing left now, only an empty heart. He lost it all, his family and about to lose a friend. He had fallen down and was now aching.

It could have been his eyes deceiving him, but he could swear there was this shape forming itself right before his eyes. And then suddenly the shape filled itself black and blue Night Fury eyes looked down at him. Hiccup's own ones went wide, knowing he knew her from a long time ago.

Hiccup didn't realize he had managed to lift the upper part of his body with both arms as he wanted to reach her.

The Night Fury pressed her head against his chest and Hiccup wrapped his arms around her head, embracing her like his own mother. And then he could swear he heard her speak inside.

As she leaned forward, she walked right through him like a ghost and turned around to face him again once she stood on the other side.

'' _Remember who you are.''_

And with that, her black form faded away like smoke.

Hiccup breathed heavily with tears streaming down his face. For a moment, he felt hope again. Hiccup furrowed his brows in determination, slowly picking himself off the ground. He puffed out his chest as he inhaled deeply, and burst into a gallop straight for the town.

* * *

 **I know this is going REALLY fast, but the story's already all written down so...**

 **Plus, sorry for not updating, I was busy all weekdays doing HOMEWORK! Who doesn't like homework? :D**

 **Anyway, I'm also trying to continue writing Control, but since, of course, it's like a never ending fanfiction for me (every time I see the end coming, I just take another path to keep it going X]) I have no idea when it'll be updated, but I try to write when I possibly can.**

 **Rain.**


	5. Chapter 5

Hiccup ran as fast as his two legs and arms could carry him – jumping boulders in the way, avoiding the large puddles of water created by the rain and slipping in the mud. He didn't have time to climb in trees and go from a branch to another. His breathing was quick and he felt the blood throbbing through his veins. As he felt tiredness coming, Hiccup shut his eyes and shot forward, his eyes narrowed as his saw the clearing of the village right up ahead.

He burst through the ferns in the way and instantly found himself facing a violent battlefield. Men faced each other with their weapons, trying to kill each other like savages.

This was it. Outcasts against Berkians.

It was a horrible sight, and all Hiccup wanted to do was get out of here right now. But he had someone to help.

Just thinking of Astrid, she suddenly appeared in the middle of the bloodshed, her axe in hands while yelling her own war-cry. And then she found herself against an enemy soldier.

Hiccup cried out after her, as if to stop her and broke into a run, sliding through legs of moving soldiers and avoiding an axe or a sword slicing an arm or a leg. His eyes focused on her and her only, and he didn't notice and Outcast soldier who hadn't seen him and tripped over the boy. Hiccup was brought with his fall and rolled over a couple times. He shook his head to move his wet hair dangling before his eyes and searched for Astrid again, caring very little about what just happened.

He didn't see her, and allowed fear to get him once again. But when a house on fire suddenly collapsed right before him, she appeared on the other side and was fighting another.

Hiccup didn't wait any longer and passed all of the men in his way, who hadn't noticed him a bit – too busy trying to kill.

As the man Astrid was fighting brought his sword over his head to bring it down on her, Hiccup jumped on him, knocking him out with a kick to the head. Hiccup dropped to the ground to face her, her axe dropping on her shoulder as she showed confusion in her eyes.

''You...'' she breathed. ''You came back?''

He smiled at her and without saying a word, narrowed his eyes on the man he hated most.

Alvin the Treacherous.

He bore his teeth and growled low as he turned around to head for the Outcast Chief. As he did, the man had just retrieved his sword he had used to slice in two the skull of an enemy and soon enough, made eye contact with the boy standing in the middle of the bloodshed.

Hiccup could see him advancing his lower jaw to reveal his teeth and furrowing his brows to express his anger. He didn't have to hear him to know he was growling as well.

And with a war-cry, Alvin ran for him with his sword over his shoulder as if he was sure he was going to get him. Astrid had already gotten out of the way, knowing this fight wasn't meant for her. Hiccup jumped as the blade came down on him and while the man had his head low, Hiccup took the chance to hit him on the nose – enough for it to hurt.

Alvin was thrown backwards while holding his face, but it didn't take long to recover. He roared and brought the sword down again, and again, but Hiccup was much lighter on his feet and managed to avoid every blow, even when they came a little too close.

The two hadn't noticed that the rest of the fights had stopped to watch the ultimate of the Outcast leader and the wild boy.

Using the man's size, Hiccup climbed on his back when he was bending low to retrieve his weapon. But when Hiccup held on there, Alvin managed to throw him off with a hit of his elbow, sending the boy a good distance away.

Hiccup crashed down in the forming mud and slowly picked himself up. He looked up at the massive Outcast approaching him with a smile in his eyes and his sword rising over his shoulder to bring it down on him.

And at the last moment, Hiccup recovered completely and burst into a run for the hill behind him – out of death's way.

He ran up the naturally formed tower, following the road leading up to a little hut on the highest point. But he stopped when he reached the first level and saw Alvin had been just behind him the whole time.

He felt his heart pounding hard in his chest as he knew he was stuck between two deaths. He had no choice but fight him to the end.

''You have no place to go, boy,'' laughed Alvin as he stepped in mud with his massive sword still in hand, his form blurry by the rain pouring down on them.

Without question asked, he swung his weapon at him, but Hiccup managed once again to avoid it. Lightning stroke in the sky, showing the fight between man and boy clearly for only half a second and then the crowd below returned to hearing grunts and clings of Alvin's blade crashing against rocks from the ground with the non-stopping rain falling from above. Thunder echoed, suddenly covering all the noises. When the loud rumbling faded away, only the noise of the raindrops splashing on the hard surface of the ground remained.

Astrid's fingers held her bangs out of her face as her eyes scanned the place where Alvin the Treacherous and Hiccup had been fighting a lightning strike ago. Her breath quickened as she finally registered that it was over. Suddenly, as more lightning stroke, a large form began to rise and looks of horror appeared in many faces followed by gasps. Thunder rumbled once more, and the clouds above ran out of rain. Slowly, the painful raindrops began to soften and in a short matter of time, only a mist was left along with the crack of dawn as the storm clouds were chased away by the rising sun.

When the morning light was bright enough for the warriors to see clearly, a couple of curious minds walked up the way the two sworn enemies had stepped until they reached where it all happened.

Astrid was in the last ones to follow the group, and when she reached the top, she saw Alvin's lifeless body lying on the ground, fresh blood still running between the grasses on the earth below. She felt her last meal suddenly turning back around and covered her mouth with her hand. She'd seen many things since her first day on the battlefield, but this was too much. His own sword was still stuck in his limp body, and as her eyes landed on the handle, she noticed the drying mud stuck to the leather.

This was Hiccup's work.

She looked down at her feet and on the muddy ground below, hand and footprints showed the way where her friend had gone. She noticed blood filling the deep prints on the ground, and Astrid raised her chin, gazing at the forest back there. Her vision began to blur and soon enough tears were streaming down her face.

''You saved us...'' she whispered quietly as her blue eyes looked out at the darkness ahead where Hiccup had run off to.

...

Hiccup crawled his way deep in the woods, his teeth gritted at the pain from his many wounds. His left side was almost completely ruined with deep cuts from the man's blade. His thigh was opened with gashes on his back along with many bruises from crashing. He carried his weight with the help of his two arms and one leg until he couldn't take it anymore. He let himself drop to the ground, no more strength left in him. His eyelids were heavy from tiredness. He couldn't fight it anymore, and drifted away.

...

A couple days after the attack, Outcasts returned to their island. Being soldiers without their own leader, they followed Berk's orders and left without turning back.

The villagers around town had been cleaning up the plaza and rebuilding the destructed houses.

Astrid was helping with the village by putting out the little fires here and there that had survived the storm. As she carried a bucket full of water to her next stop, something where the ultimate battle happened caught her eye.

She turned her head all of a sudden for her eyes to meet the figure of a boy standing on all fours. The same green eyes she'd seen for the first time shone against the darkness of dawn.

He stood proudly on the edge – just like a wolf watching over them.


End file.
